Bay Kennish (Vanessa Marano) is an artistic teenager being raised by her stay-at-home mom Kathryn (Lea Thompson) and former professional baseball player father John (D. W. Moffett), in a wealthy neighborhood along with her brother Toby (Lucas Grabeel). After studying blood types in school, Bay begins to investigate why her blood type does not match her parents. When the family confirms Bay is not biologically related, they discover the hospital mistakenly switched her with another newborn. Daphne Vasquez (Katie Leclerc), a deaf teen living with her struggling single mother Regina (Constance Marie) and grandmother in a working class neighborhood. A case of meningitis caused Daphne to lose her hearing as a child, so she attends a deaf and hard of hearing school where she plays basketball.

When the two families meet, the girls toil with their identities as Bay relates to her birth mother's artistic abilities and Daphne is drawn to John's athletic skills. The Kennishes learn that Regina is facing financial woes and propose the Vasquezes move into their guest home. The new living situation forces the girls, along with both families, to understand their differences and embrace their similarities.Deaf advocate Marlee Matlin plays a friend of Regina's and the mother of Emmett (Sean Berdy), Daphne's best friend and a deaf schoolmate.

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I really wish we could stay longer in the countries we visit, but I've been lucky to have visited most of them before, because I've done a tremendous amount of travel. - Phil Keoghan

Young children often imagine a different life. Maybe we’re really long lost royalty or a distant cousin to a famous movie star. But for all of the daydreaming, the concept of finding out that your whole life was supposed to be another life would be very overwhelming.

This new show sets the premise in the initial four minutes. There is no spoiler here to say the show’s core is about two teenage girls who were switched at birth. The premiere has a lot of exposition and back story, but it also sets up a lot of storylines that will clearly evolve throughout the summer season.

In a science class at a private school, Bay Kennish (Gilmore Girls’ Vanessa Marano) is doing blood typing. She tells her parents, John and Kathryn (played by Friday Night Light’s D.W. Moffet and Back to the Future’s Leah Thompson) that she’s type AB. Since they’re both type A, they assume the testing was wrong. But Bay, having a gut feeling based on a long held curiosity about her dark coloring to her sibling’s red hair, suggests genetic testing. Six weeks later it’s confirmed that she is not their genetic daughter. Two weeks later, the phone rings in the home of Regina Vasquez (George Lopez’s Constance Marie) and her red-headed (Leah Thompson look-a-like) daughter Daphne (relative newcomer Kate LeClerc). And, yep, that was the first four minutes.

We quickly learn a little backstory. John Kennish is a former third baseman for the Royals and he now owns a string of successful car washes. The Kennish family lives in a mansion with a swimming pool, tennis and basketball courts, and a guest house. Regina works as a hairdresser, and lives with her mother and Daphne in the poor part of town. In fact it is so poor, that they have stereotypical bars on the window and car break-ins.

The twist in the story is that Daphne is, due to meningitis at age three, profoundly deaf. But the show is very clear to show that although deaf is a disability, it does not define the character. She is fluent in sign language (as is Regina), lip reads, and does use her voice. John and Kathryn have a hard time seeing beyond her deafness and make a lot of rookie mistakes in getting to know her. Kathryn speaks loudly and John immediately jumps to cochlear implants. Even their son Toby (two years older than the girls) is taught that you talk to a deaf person, not the interpreter. It’s a bit after-school special-ish, but it’s necessary to set the groundwork for the story to move forward. Deafness is part of Daphne, but we’re made to quickly see that she’s smart, a little sarcastic, and a terrific athlete, so no one thing characterizes her. He best friend (boyfriend?) Emmett is also deaf and attends a deaf school with her.

Whereas Daphne is definitely shown as the “good girl”, Bay is having a little more trouble adapting. She’s not sure who she is, how she feels, or where she belongs in all of this. She pushes away her boyfriend Liam. She acts out as a graffiti tag artist, a fake nose piercing, and getting arrested for trying to buy beer with a fake id card. It’s a little cliché at this point to have one be a good girl and one be the rebel, but I’ll assume for the pilot they’re just laying the groundwork for later character development.

The show really breaks from the teen mold by focusing a lot on the parents and how they are adapting to having raised someone else’s child. Both parents love the child they raised, but Kathryn and John are a bit pushier in wanting to become part of Daphne’s life. They wonder, if with their money, they could have gotten her better medical care and prevented her deafness. They worry when they see her on Emmett’s motorcycle. And they think she may be limiting herself by attending the deaf school instead of the fancy private school that Bay and Toby attend.

They take her on a tour of the school without telling Regina. Daphne meets Liam there and the two have a flirty encounter, unbeknownst to Bay. But when she tells Regina she wants to go there, Regina thinks it’s a bad idea, as Daphne had been teased in regular school in the past. In an odd turn, there isn’t much interaction between Bay and Regina, outside of a brief meeting, post-runaway incident. But we’ve got more episodes, so I guess we’ll see that explored later.

In a convenient twist, Regina is two months behind and considering moving herself and Daphne to Toledo. Bay suggests that they instead move into the family’s vacant guest home. Regina makes it clear to Kathryn, that while they’re both going to get to know their respective daughters, she’s not interested in the two of them becoming friends. Yeah… I see lots of conflict and resolution in their future.

And Bay makes a new friend, Ty, who she bumped into earlier while doing her graffiti of a girl in a pink dress with a sledgehammer (her tag). He thinks she’s just a rich white girl, but there’s clearly a spark between the two. She also schools him in the title of the episode, which comes from the artwork of René Magritte, about how things are not always what they seem.

As pilots go, this one was on exposition overload (such as Regina’s sobriety), but also refreshingly enjoyable. Now that we know all the characters, they’ve settled into their new (awkward) living arrangement, and education (Daphne will go to the regular school), we now get to see how the story plays out. Between teen drama and angst, fish out of water angles, and the initial premise alone, there should and will be lots of story to be told this summer… and I’m looking forward to it!

« Last Edit: July 02, 2011, 03:22:14 PM by LoveRocked »

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I really wish we could stay longer in the countries we visit, but I've been lucky to have visited most of them before, because I've done a tremendous amount of travel. - Phil Keoghan

Last week Switched At Birth premiered to record ratings for ABC Family. And if the show keeps on the same consistent path they showed us tonight, I don’t see a decline in its future.

In these two episodes, we’ve seen a good division of screen time between the teen characters and the adults. But most importantly, we can see each character’s motivations very clearly. Nobody is (so far) evil and out to destroy anyone else. What we have so far is three parents and two daughters trying to navigate the confusion of life’s reveals. So let’s check in for week two of Switched At Birth.

Daphne awakens to, well, every kid’s secret dream. Gone are the bars on her bedroom windows of her tiny old house. Instead, she looks out to seemingly endless sunshine and a fancy swimming pool. Moments later, Bay is over at the guest house to invite the new residents over for homemade breakfast (and seriously what is a popover?).

Only Daphne accepts the invitation, and she is soon overwhelmed by the family’s constant chatter and inside jokes. We step inside her quiet world and can see the hubbub that surrounds her. Kathryn and John try to include her in conversations, but talk over each other and forget to face her for lip-reading. She also misses their concerned looks when she leaves for school on Emmett’s motorcycle.

At her own school, Bay tries to make good with Liam after “taking a break” last episode. Liam is upset at not knowing what is going on with her, and he chalks it up to “Bay drama”. He then takes a trip to Daphne’s school for a visit, still not knowing the girls’ connection. Daphne and Liam have a quick bond and make plans, but Emmett is protective of Daphne and thinks no good will come from her dating a hearing (and rich) football player.

Kathryn is bothered to see Regina redecorating the guest house. Now, I know they invited her and Daphne (and Abuela) to move in, but I agree it’s a bit presumptuous of Regina to begin tearing down wallpaper without asking. I am however in agreement with her about packing up some of the tchotchkes!

When Bay is unable to overturn her grounding for last week’s fake ID debacle, she opts for the tried and true method of playing parents against each other. But instead of her father, she opts to see if Regina can be of assistance. She’s surprised when Regina says the punishment would have been harsher coming from her. As a recovering alcoholic, she admonishes Bay about her predisposition to addiction. The two further bond over art, including quoting Frida Kahlo. And when Regina’s handsome former neighbor Ty pays a visit to “deliver mail”, he and Bay continue their flirtation.

In the kitchen, Toby and Daphne engage in some sweet sibling bonding while preparing for a family BBQ. Meanwhile John and Kathryn have met with a lawyer, who advises they consolidate their lawsuit against the hospital with Regina for a larger settlement. The two also decide that they will approach Regina over their discomfort about Daphne riding a motorcycle. And it goes about as well as one would expect. Regina tells them it’s not their place to criticize her parenting decisions.

The BBQ is awkward on all family fronts. When Kathryn suggests saying grace, Regina declares her family to be atheist. Daphne demurs that she’s agnostic and offers to say grace. But the dinner goes from bad to worse when Kathryn offers to drive Daphne to school every morning, disregarding Regina’s previous statements about allowing the motorcycle rides. Regina goes on the offensive, wondering what other decisions of hers they are going to try and circumvent.

Back in the guest house, Daphne tells her mother she’s not even trying and wonders why she hates the Kennishes. Regina opines that they are arrogant and entitled. Daphne takes off. In the main house, Bay wonders if her parents hate everything about Regina if it doesn’t mean that they hate some things about her as well. She sneaks out of the house.

Daphne meets up with Liam at a record store where she teaches him about lip reading. She declines to tell him anything personal, but the two are having a nice time until they run into some of his friends who act like teenage jerks, insensitive to her deafness. One asks for the sign for “doing the nasty”, so Daphne teaches him the sign for “I’m a douchebag.” Then she texts Emmett to come take her home.

Bay meets up with Ty for some late night graffiti postering and schools him in the unwritten rules of tagging. She also lets her guard down and tells him about the whole baby switch fiasco. The two share a tender kiss. When she gets home, she first runs into Daphne and the two acknowledge the oddness of their mutual situation. Then, she is busted by John, who opts to go easy on his daughter.

The next morning, Regina admits she’s being too hard on John and Kathryn, and that it took her a while to learn deaf culture too. She tells them she resisted the motorcycle at first, but learned to trust Emmett as a safe driver. Daphne schools them that they need to talk slower and be patient. But when Kathryn balks again at the bike, Regina says this is about getting to know the girls, not co-parenting. She also advises she has no interest in pursuing a lawsuit against the hospital. Kathryn suspects she’s hiding something.

So while Regina is clearly overreacting to every little overture from the Kennish household, Kathryn is almost neurotic in trying to parent Daphne. And John’s idea of filing legal papers to have a say in Daphne’s life will clearly blow up in the future. But the fascinating thing is that Daphne seems to be a focal point for all parents, while Bay is almost an afterthought. I think we need more Bay and Regina bonding and getting to know each other beyond “gee whiz, we have this in common?”. And something tells me there’s got to be more going on with Toby than meets the initial eye. I just don’t know what yet!

« Last Edit: July 02, 2011, 03:21:25 PM by LoveRocked »

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I really wish we could stay longer in the countries we visit, but I've been lucky to have visited most of them before, because I've done a tremendous amount of travel. - Phil Keoghan

So far the show has been largely about nurture versus nature, Regina versus Kathryn, and Bay versus the world. But tonight, the show finally takes a step into beginning to blend the two families.

Now, it’s just a step, as tonight still largely dealt with the lifestyle and culture clashes we’ve been watching thus far. But what we also got was the set-up for some story lines that will most likely carry us through the rest of the season. Let’s break it down, shall we?

Even though the show is supposed to be about the two teen girls, the bulk of action is really centered on the parents. Kathryn and Regina are having the hardest time adjusting to each other and their different perceptions of things. Determined to keep up appearances, Kathryn wants the baby switch to stay within the family unit a little longer, but as with most secrets, it’s slowly getting out and causing ripples.

Regina is still showing the same stubborn streak we’re all getting used to. Even though she has moved across town, she’s not giving up her connections to her own life. In fact, she’s determined to continue her home salon out of her new digs. Now, once again, I’m a little with Kathryn on this one. Like last week’s remodeling, I think it’s appropriate to at least inform the home owners that you will be conducting business on their property. It’s just good manners.

Kathryn finagles Regina a job at a posh salon in town, where her first client is Denise, a prying and slightly condescending friend of Kathryn’s. When Regina tries to talk to Kathryn about her friend, it turns into another snippy conversation between the two. However, by the end of the hour, Kathryn finally fesses up that she’s worried that people will judge her for not realizing that Bay wasn’t her biological daughter. With a little prodding for Regina about the merits of true friendship, Kathryn confides the truth in Denise, who is surprisingly compassionate.

John and Daphne are bonding over basketball. He’s pushing her and she’s embracing it, believing that’s what fathers do. He pushes his way into her basketball practice at school, and her coach Melody (played by Marlee Matlin) opts to turn the coaching reigns over to him in their entirety. But he pushes her too hard and Daphne storms off, with a slightly clueless John calling out to his deaf daughter. The two talk it out and begin to embrace their budding father-daughter relationship.

It also turns out that Melody is Emmett’s mother and Regina’s best friend. Melody pushes Regina to get to know Bay better. But all Bay really wants at this point is to know who her father is. Everyone, from Regina to Audrina to Daphne is surprisingly vague, offering no details. Bay is frustrated, but we all know there is more to this story in coming weeks. But Bay takes it too far when she suggests that maybe he didn’t want to be a father to Daphne, but would’ve stuck around for her. Daphne is hurt.

Meanwhile Bay is still hanging with Ty, and when his car breaks down, she offers to pay for the repairs. It doesn’t go offer well and the two have a tiff, but quickly make up with a kiss. Daphne is dissing Liam after the way his friends treated her last week, but he refuses to give up. By hour’s end, she seems open to revisiting the situation.

So some lingering questions:Obviously, number one, what is the true deal with Bay’s birth father?

There was no mention of Regina’s secret, but were we supposed to notice something fishy in the photo of Regina pregnant?

Now that Kathryn’s told one friend of the swap, how quickly will the news spread?

Was Bay oversensitive when John mentioned the lawsuit? Was seeing it as “her = hospital mistake” a little too teen-angsty?

When Emmett described his ideal girl as being deaf and intro sports/motorcycles, was Daphne the only person not to get it?

Will Toby continue to be Bay/Daphne fodder, or will he get his own story?

And, finally, did anyone else sense real chemistry between John and Melody?

« Last Edit: July 02, 2011, 03:20:45 PM by LoveRocked »

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I really wish we could stay longer in the countries we visit, but I've been lucky to have visited most of them before, because I've done a tremendous amount of travel. - Phil Keoghan

Most people throw a party and wonder what would happen if nobody showed. On this show, Kathryn throws a party (I mean “fundraiser”) and wonders what everyone will be saying about her. And Bay wonders if anyone will notice her. And both Regina and Kathryn seem to be wondering about who is noticing John.

This episode brings all of our main characters together in a single setting and we finally get to see how they interact with knowing and prying eyes. And, what we’ve all been anticipating, the reveal of Daphne and Liam finally comes to light. So how did it all play out? Keep reading to find out.

At the start of the hour, Daphne and Liam make it official that they are boyfriend and girlfriend. With their mutual like of zombie movies, sports, and fried zucchini, it’s truly teenage love.

Back at the house, Kathryn is busy planning her fundraiser (to raise money from scholarships to attend fancy Buckner Hall). She’s got Toby and his band playing the party. And she is nervous and a little desperate to provide a united front now that the baby-switch secret is out. To help her on that end, she invites Regina and Daphne to attend the party. Regina is, once again, a little snide at the idea of spending time on something involving Kathryn, but Daphne is excited to attend and bring her new boyfriend.

With Bay looking on, Regina and Kathryn both jump into simultaneous “mom” mode and wonder who Daphne is dating. All are shocked when she reveals it is Liam, Bay’s ex-boyfriend. Kathryn was unaware of the “ex” part. Bay is floored, and spitefully declares she is dating Ty. Daphne’s incredulous response of “My Ty?,” really made me want a mai-tai.

At school, Daphne is eating lunch with Emmett and he’s reading her a pretty good riot act for dating Liam. He points out that either she’s taking Bay’s guy or Bay’s leftovers. I love the way these two communicate. Their subtitled signing scenes (say that ten times fast) reveal a level of comfort between the two actors that many speaking and hearing actors can’t convey.

Regina and Daphne have dinner with Melody and Emmett. Melody agrees to go the party as Regina’s plus one, but also admits that she and Cameron (husband? It is a gender neutral name these days, right?) have separated. Both ladies tell Daphne that they don’t think dating Bay’s ex-boyfriend is a good idea.

And when party night arrives, Daphne is less than thrilled to be wearing a dress she’s worn to five Quinceañeras. Regina is wondering why Daphne suddenly cares about dress labels. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m getting a little bored with Regina’s money/class phobias. Not everything is about the haves and have-nots. Sometimes a teenage girl just wants a new dress. Melody tells Daphne that every outfit is gussied up by a flower in the hair, which hilariously reminded me of the baby’s breath Marlee Matlin wore in her hair when she won her Academy Award.

As the party begins, Kathryn puts on her “game face” to pleasantly greet her gossiping guests. Everyone at the event is immediately going to the “switched at birth” revelation and hounding Kathryn and Bay with relentless questions. Bay has the fun job of trying to explain to the dumbest girl on the planet why she and Daphne don’t look alike. Apparently the difference between switched and separated at birth is too hard to grasp.

When Toby’s band has a crisis in the lack of a drummer, Daphne swoops in to the rescue by suggesting Emmett. The band is understandably skeptical at a non-rehearsed and deaf drummer. Daphne explains to them that music is about rhythm and vibrations to the deaf community and that Emmett is an awesome drummer. The band, cringe-worthily named Guitar Face” begins to play and Toby and his band mate are blown away at Emmett’s prowess. I’m blown away that they ended in sync with no rehearsals! The song, “All I Want Is” is actually sung and performed by Lucas Grabeel (Toby). For a limited time, you can download it free at ABC Family’s website. After the set, we see that Toby might be quite the player as he gamely accepts a hug from the earlier dumb girl.

While he drummed, Emmett stared jealously at Liam and Daphne dancing. But instead of telling her he’s got a thing for her, he angrily goes to his deaf/hearing people don’t make good couples lecture. Uh Emmett… maybe just tell her you like her?

Throughout the night, Kathryn is having a hard time keeping her “game face” on, especially when she hears the guests speculating that Daphne is actually John’s baseball-on-the-road lovechild. Several also wonder how she could not know her own baby. Kathryn looks to John for support, but he’s inside talking with a very flirty-seeming Melody. She eyes the situation with worry, but Regina sees the same thing and seems very bothered by Melody’s behavior.

Regina tells Melody to back off, to which Melody denies flirting. At the same time, Regina makes a date with Bruce, the ex-husband of one of Kathryn’s friends. In doing so, she ignores Kathryn’s words of warnings that he’s bad news, clearly out of her sense that Kathryn couldn’t possibly be considerate. It’s getting old Regina!

John reassures Kathryn that he’s never given her a reason to doubt him and he’s not starting now. We finally get to see some real affection between the two, and there is actual chemistry there. Kathryn, with her over enunciating (and raised volume) to Daphne and overcompensating/sniping with Regina, would greatly be served by relaxing a little.

Bay’s feelings are hurt when she sees a reporter photographing Daphne with her family. She swipes champagne (which never seems to go down in glass volume), but eventually tosses it out (after Regina took a glass from her as well.) She and Daphne finally have it out, with Bay accusing her of being too nice all the time and stealing her life. Daphne accuses her of always playing the victim.

But Daphne takes the confrontation to heart, and breaks it off with Liam after their one and only catch. With tears in her eyes, she admits that she needs Bay and to make it work with the family, and her relationship with Liam will only cause strife. However, based on her expression when she sees Bay drive off with Ty, that could change.

« Last Edit: July 02, 2011, 03:19:32 PM by LoveRocked »

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I really wish we could stay longer in the countries we visit, but I've been lucky to have visited most of them before, because I've done a tremendous amount of travel. - Phil Keoghan

Happy 4th of July to everyone! While many are tending to sunburns and enjoying some fireworks, we’ve also got a new episode of our favorite new hit summer show to chat about!

After last week’s party debacle, many readers were angry about Bay’s insolent attitude towards her family and Daphne. Let’s see if she redeemed herself this week!

Bay and Ty (post-party) are making out pretty heavily and almost ready to … seal the deal. But with a lack of protection, they opt to wait (good call). Unfortunately, when he brings her home at three in the morning, the secret couple is busted kissing in the driveway by John. Initially, Kathryn and John rail at Bay for lying and sneaking around. But after acknowledging the forbidding a teenager to see someone always has the reverse effect, Kathryn wisely points out that Bay seems to be exploring the life she might have had. Instead of grounding, they insist she have Ty over for dinner.

Meanwhile, Regina is getting flowers and making dates with Bruce, much to Kathryn’s chagrin and continued warnings about him being a “player.” Regina shocks Kathryn when she explains she’s not looking for a relationship, as much as an opportunity to …uh… “scratch an itch”. (This is a family-friendly website covering a show on a “family”-friendly network. Enjoy my euphemisms.) Regina may also be acting out in reaction to the newspaper article that portrays the whole Kennish family as hers and Daphne’s saviors. (John just worries that the positive spin will hurt their lawsuit.)

Daphne, in attempt to break out of her break-up funk, tries to bond with Toby. When she finds out he plays poker, she finagles an invite for herself and Emmett (who apologized for his anger last week). She explains to Toby that “deafies” (her word) are excellent poker players, since they’re not as distracted and can read body language. Toby gets excited and convinces her and Emmett to scheme with him to beat his friends and split their winnings. Daphne’s hesitant, but is swayed by her desire to spend time with her brother.

Bay gets nervous about the dinner and begs Daphne and Regina to be in attendance, and both agree. Bay and Daphne repair some of last week’s damage with sincere apologies about their dating choices. When Bay hears about Daphne going to play “miniature golf” (code word for poker) with Toby, she offers up her own experience, which ended up with her giving Toby her birthday money to get out of debt. This time it’s Daphne who is stubborn, as she ignores Bay’s words of warning.

The day of the dinner, Emmett and Daphne join Toby at the poker game, but are a little stunned to see the high stakes that are being played. Daphne and Emmett stick with the plan and help him win quite a bit, but Emmett opts out quickly when he learns that Toby is in need of more winnings to help him more to pay off his gambling debt. Daphne plays along, but gets taken by fake body language, and Toby loses thousands of dollars, and blames Daphne. Plus, the game ran late, and they miss Ty’s dinner at the Kennish’s.

At the dinner, John is giving Ty the third degree about his education and career plans. Ty is actually quite adept at handling the parents, but shocks Bay when he announces that he’s enlisted in the Army and will be leaving in a week. Bay covers her shock to her parents, but lays into Ty for not telling her sooner. When she later meets with Ty, he admits he did have protection the other night, but needed to tell her he was leaving before he could be intimate with her. Bay opts to not sleep with him before he leaves, but also doesn’t want a big good-bye speech (with or without the ‘L’ word), but asks him to say what he has to say upon his return. Returning home, she sobs to Kathryn, even telling her mom that she didn’t sleep with him.

But Regina’s date with Bruce went muuuuuch better. But due to both having children at home, they opt to stay in the car and “park” for a while.

After the poker game, Daphne admits to Bay that she was right about Toby’s predilection towards big bets and big losses. And then they see him drive off to pawn his guitars. Well, in the beginning, I wondered if Toby would have a storyline of his own. Now I wonder if this story will be original, or if it will be a retread of Brandon Walsh’s gambling addiction on Beverly Hills, 90210 (original flavor).

So what did you think of this week’s episode?• Did Bay finally come across as a little more sympathetic?• Are you curious to see if Regina does do a follow up/counterpoint interview with the reporter?• If Ty comes back from the army, will he have shaved his beautiful hair?• Were you surprised that nobody brought up the legality of Bay and Ty’s age difference in all the sex talks?

And how awesome was this exchange:Kathryn: “Do you think they might be having sex?”Regina: “Have you seen Ty without a shirt?”Kathryn: “No! Have you?”Regina: “Now that’s a washing machine!”

by the way, It's actually good tv show and some funny.

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I really wish we could stay longer in the countries we visit, but I've been lucky to have visited most of them before, because I've done a tremendous amount of travel. - Phil Keoghan